Category Archives: Amiras

Brandywine Shawl is one of those patterns in my one-day-I-will-knit-this list. I coveted the pattern ever since I laid my eyes on it and was lucky enough to receive it as a gift from a swap I participated in ages ago, (thanks, Susan!) but just never found the drive to actually knit it.

I hand-dyed the yarn I used for this project, originally planning to use it for colourwork but I was itching to cast on a shawl in this yarn. The pattern is a gift from SusanFromAthens during a Sundara swap. 🙂

My original cast on date was actually the 12th of August 2011. Yes. So long ago. I was in the middle of Chart B, that much I remember, and I made the mistake of not marking my place in the chart. So when I dropped the project to work on something and then came back to it, I could not read my work! I had no idea where in the chart I was.

So nearly 3 years after that original cast on, I frogged what little progress I had and restarted the shawl. The years between had hopefully given me enough experience to know better than to rely on my own (failing) memory.

I did 12 repeats of Chart B since the skein is quite generous and I think I could have added one more repeat and still have leftover to contribute to my sock yarn blanket.

It was fun while it lasted but I am glad to finish this shawl. Seems like ages ago when I first had the desire to knit this complicated-looking shawl. I struggled with the i-cord bind off and even thought of doing just a regular stretchy version but it looked untidy and out of place. So I persevered until I got the hang of it, which was quite satisfying because now the shawl has a nice neat top edge.

“Whatever’s good for your soul – do that!”

We’re going back to London tonight! It will be a very different place from the last time that we visited in August. We’re packing layers and hats and gloves and an umbrella. We expect to shiver down to our toes and we will love it. We have a jam-packed itinerary for the few days that we are there including a trip to a magical place. So excited about that one.

The UAE will have a long weekend from tonight so I hope everyone has a wonderful time, whatever you are doing. Enjoy and see you on the other side.

Only because there were quite a few new members signing in to the Knitting Amiras group and I’m the only page administrator who can let them in.

Still not checking newsfeed or any other notifications. My husband shows me stuff but as long as I am not posting, commenting, viewing and saving posts and videos and links, I’m not breaking my diet. *closes eyes, sticks fingers in ears and goes lalalalala*

Note: I hit “Publish” too soon so the first post went up without any text! Sorry about that.

Okay, so I Knit is this cool shop and sanctuary for knitters and crafters tucked away on Lower Marsh in London, just off the Waterloo tube station. The owner, Gerard, is the sweetest thing, soft-spoken but warms up to you after a while. Oh and he also dyes some amazing colours on yarn!

Eleven days left in October. That’s how many days any self-respecting sock knitter has to finish at least one pair of socks to celebrate this most sacred month: Socktober. In the knitting world, this means knitting socks all month long. In the real world, it means collecting pairs of socks and donating them to homeless shelters, as in the USA. Either way, it’s all about socks.

It’s not too late to cast on a pair now if you haven’t already done so. And to help you along, here’s my top picks for sock patterns that will surely tickle your toes.Read the rest of this entry →

Nope, I was not in London for iKnit Fandango. Luckily, I have friends who were there and were kind enough to indulge my yearning for yarn (like I do not already have enough to last me two lifetimes!) and play yarn mule. So, thank you, Mina and Mel for bringing me back these lovelies.

Okay, this was not from the market but I saw that Mina managed to get some of these when she posted on Instagram and I had to ask. I actually had four balls of these, two different colourways but someone started petting them and might have expressed desire to take them off my already overflowing stash. What can I say? I’m easy. And I love Lisa so much not to share the love. So she went home with two balls of another colourway. This is supposed to self-stripe in a Fair Isle colourway. I cannot wait to see how it works up! It looks like the balls are different colours, but the are the same dyelot. Maybe one is just wound up differently?

This was a pre-order from The Yarn Tree. I have Mina to thank for this skein. She tagged me on Instagram when the dyer offered the pre-order and because she knows me too well. The name of the colourway is Vincent and The Doctor, and, Mina, knowing how much a fan of Doctor Who I am, knew I would be interested. So I followed links, clicked here and there and voila, signed myself up for a skein of this beautiful colourway. It’s 75% merino, 25% nylon, 4-ply sock yarn, not sure how it knits up and what pattern to use for it yet, but I know it will be fantastic!

Now this skein is from iKnit Fandango! Mina chose this for me. This is Regenbogen in Pure. I asked her if she could pick up two skeins of Wollmeise Pure for me, different colours that I could knit up in stripes, and she made the decision for me. And I love her choices! The other skein, not pictured, is the Natural so nothing exciting to show you. I am now searching for a plain, striping top that I can knit up and have ready for cooler months in Dubai. Suggestions are welcome!

Oh and I have to tell you that Mina also shared with me a bunch of lovely, heady dried Lothian lavender! That would surely not have passed customs check at the post office so thank you again Mel for bringing to back to Dubai for me. I am going to put them in smaller packets and place them in my yarn bins, the wardrobe and even the car. My closet smells heavenly already and they have only been there for an hour or so!

Okay, enough from me. I realize I haven’t blogged anything in weeks. I do have stuff in draft but have not had time to finish them. I hope to fix that soon. Have a good week ahead!

I have been on a good finishing streak so this post is all about glamour shots of said FOs.

Who needs a cowl in Dubai? It might surprise you to know that it does get cold here, in the desert, despite over 360 days of glorious sunshine every year. Yes, we get an average of 5 days a year when the mighty Sun is obscured due to heavy fog or sandstorm, or heavens forbid we get rain! Out of the 360 days, about 60 of those are the actual proper “winter” when the temperature sometimes hits single digits. You can never go wrong with a cowl tucked in your handbag for the rest of the year because of over-zealous air conditioning everywhere. I mean everywhere! So yes, cowls in Dubai are a thing.

This one was a test-knit. It was more like a recipe because it’s brioche stitch and if you haven’t tried knitting brioche stitch then you are missing out on the fun, big time! However, the ever-talented Dieuwke has added an amazing twist to this cowl. See that braid of squishy goodness? Yes, that! Do you think you can figure out how to get that? Ha! Maybe you can after studying it and doing a trial-and-error for the next few weeks or months, but why bother when you can grab the pattern from Ravelry? I present to you my Experioche, knit in my own hand-dyed Dubai Knits Luxe DK. Well, the white yarn is undyed. I’m a bit partial, but I just love this yarn.Read the rest of this entry →

This past weekend, I had not one, but two instances which proved that you cannot take anything for granted, no matter how much of an expert you think you are, or how long you have been doing the same thing. Trusting your instinct is great but trusting instructions/patterns that have been proven time and again by hundreds of others before you is not something you can ignore.

A little while ago, Dieuwke ran a KAL in her Ravelry group. Anyone who signed up to knit Hallow Moon gets the pattern for free. It’s a neat little shawl with knitted on i-cord on either edging. It does tend to get a little hairy at first but once you get the hang of it, you’re good to go. Also, Dieuwke created a simple, concise video tutorial for the i-cord technique so you won’t have to struggle to figure it out on your own.Read the rest of this entry →